World Food Day Your esteemed newspaper on Oct. 17 published an opinion by
Prof. Didin S. Damanhuri on the problems faced by rice farmers,
especially the declining price of rice in the market. This
opinion and the others in the paper were thought-provoking. More ...

Decision on tycoons not final: Attorney General JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid's order to delay the
prosecution of three top businessmen on account of their huge
contribution to exports was intended as a public discourse and
not binding, Attorney General Marzuki Darusman said on Friday. More ...

Beware the 'thief in the night', warn doctors JAKARTA (JP): Doctors urged the public, especially women above
45-years-old, to be more alert to the dangers of osteoporosis,
the prevalency of which is believed to be rising among the
Indonesian population. More ...

Spirit of punctuality must be inculcated among workersBy HL Kumar NEW DELHI: The phenomenon of absenteeism is not peculiar to
India but is a universal fact. The difference is only in
magnitude. It may differ from industry to industry, place to
place and occupation to occupation. More ...

Media ads and gender insensitivityBy Michael K. Muchiri YOGYAKARTA (JP): You have been glued to a television program,
probably watching the local love dramas, the Mexican dramas or
the Indian musicals where mostly the woman is typified as
ungrateful, self-seeking, insatiable, but a gorgeous thing. More ...

Police slam new religious groups AMBON, Maluku (JP): Maluku Police chief Brig. Gen. Firman Gani
criticized on Friday the establishment of new organizations along
religious lines, saying the trend runs counter to the drive to
restore peace between Muslims and Christians in the province. More ...

Journalists protest new police chief YOGYAKARTA (JP): The Yogyakarta branch of the Alliance of
Independent Journalists (AJI) sent a letter to the National
Police Chief Gen. Surojo Bimantoro on Friday, protesting the
decision to promote Brig. Gen. Mulyono Sulaiman as Jakarta Police
chief. More ...

Toward a democratic state Glancing at the editorial on Oct. 7 on the Indonesian position
viewed from Friedman's study on the five categories of countries
in the post-Cold War era, in which Indonesia and Russia belong to
the "messy states", I herewith wish to comment from my
educational point of ... More ...

Democracy 'may not yield results' JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid's approach to
overcoming separatist problems in the regions through political
means rather than military strength is cumbersome and does not
necessarily guarantee results, a senior military officer says.Lt. Gen. More ...

Court rejects Eurico's presence at hearing JAKARTA (JP): The South Jakarta District Court rejected once
again on Friday a call for pro-Indonesia East Timor militia
leader Eurico Guterres to be allowed to appear at his own
pretrial hearing. More ...

Blackout hits vast area JAKARTA (JP): Vast areas in western and southern parts of the
capital, including several spots in Tangerang, experienced a
blackout lasting a few minutes on Friday evening. More ...

Gus Dur to delay his visit to AustraliaBy Budiman Moerdijat SEOUL (JP): Indonesian Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab said late
Thursday here that President Abdurrahman Wahid would likely
postpone his planned visit to Australia in November. More ...

After passing resolution, IPU closes its conference JAKARTA (JP): The 104th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) closed
its week-long conference by calling for a review on the
effectiveness of embargoes and economic sanctions to resolve
international issues. More ...

Indonesia's present chaos is food for satire in new playBy Kartika Bagus C. SURAKARTA, Central Java (JP): For most Javanese, Wisanggeni is
a familiar name, symbolizing power that can change a decadent
national order. More ...

Inequality before the law President Abdurrahman Wahid has made a complete mockery of the
country's legal process by ordering the Attorney General's Office
to delay the prosecution of three prominent tycoons on account of
their supposedly huge contribution to exports, and hence to the
process of ... More ...

Yasser Arafat boosted in the Arab worldBy Paul Taylor JERUSALEM (Reuters): Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has
boosted his stature with his people and in the Arab world with
three weeks of anti-Israeli violence, but wrecked any prospect of
an early peace with the Jewish state. More ...

Glodok street vendors to be moved: Sutiyoso JAKARTA (JP): The city administration has announced it will
relocate the some 400 roadside vendors, most of whom sell pirated
VCDs and small electronic goods, operating around the busy Glodok
shopping center in West Jakarta beginning next year. More ...

Court asked to clear Pande of all charges JAKARTA (JP): A defense lawyer has asked the South Jakarta
District court to declare former deputy chairman of the
Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) Pande Lubis not
guilty and acquit his client of all corruption charges. More ...

Kiu Sen grabs Ibis Chess title JAKARTA (JP): Kiu Sen of Jakarta-based Gunadharma University
won the Ibis Youth Chess Tournament here on Friday after
collecting 3 match points in the final round. More ...

BI closes down Bank Prasida and Bank Ratu JAKARTA (JP): Bank Indonesia closed down Bank Prasidha Utama
and Bank Ratu on Friday, the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency
(IBRA) said in a statement.IBRA said that it would immediately send its officers to
secure all of the assets of the two banks. More ...

Aceh police firm on special operation BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): The police vowed on Friday to continue
the Cinta Meunasah (Love the Mosques) security operation in Aceh,
despite growing public demand that the action be halted. More ...

Eddy Nalapraya decides to quit as chairman of Persilat JAKARTA (JP): Incumbent chairman of the International Pencak
Silat Federation (Persilat) Eddy Nalapraya said he had no
intention of running for a fifth successive term. More ...

150 shrimp farmers rally against Brimob intimidation JAKARTA (JP): About 150 shrimp farmers from the region's
largest integrated shrimp firm PT Dipasena Citra Darmaja in
Lampung, southern Sumatra, staged a rally at the National Police
Headquarters here on Friday over intimidation from some ... More ...

Disturbing circumcision In the article Circumcision ritual honors children which
appeared last Sunday in this newspaper, it says that "girls'
circumcision would be a grisly and shocking sight for foreigners"
and that "it is one of the most important rites of passage in
Indonesian Muslim ... More ...

Exporters to reclaim paid handling fees JAKARTA (JP): Members of the Indonesian Importers Association
(Ginsi) and Indonesian Exporters Association (GPEI) said they
would reclaim terminal handling charges (THC) paid to foreign
shipping companies for the last five years. More ...

Rodent trouble at Semarang council SEMARANG: A rodent problem at the Berlian building on the
premises of the provincial Council compound has become so serious
that the Council's secretariat has issued an order to vacate the
building for two days so that it can be fumigated. More ...

Garuda neglects inbound travelers Garuda has recently, in huge advertisements in the local
press, praised and bragged about their improvements and how
service-minded they are today. Gone are the old days and all the
troubles faced by Garuda passengers. More ...

Brimob officers arrested for motorcycle theft JAKARTA (JP): A gang of eight members of the elite police
Mobile Brigade (Brimob) have been arrested for allegedly stealing
a number of motorcycles, including some parked in their unit's
compound in Jakarta Police Headquarters, an officer said. More ...

Protect your batik: Megawati SURAKARTA, Central Java: Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri
urged local batik artists on Friday to register copyright of
their products so the legacy of the ancestors can be legally
protected. More ...

Incident mars last day of Kobatama league BANDUNG (JP): Unruly spectators marred the final day of the
2000 Nuvo Kobatama basketball league's fourth leg on Friday,
forcing a half hour delay to the start of the third match of the
day. More ...

All Hawk-100s grounded JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Air Force (TNI AU) decided on
Friday to ground all of its British-made Hawk-100 fighters, after
one of the aircraft crashed on Thursday killing two pilots. More ...

Militia rallies at The Habibie Center JAKARTA (JP): Dozens of East Timorese militia members rallied
at The Habibie Center on Jl. Kemang Selatan, South Jakarta, on
Friday, demanding that its founder B.J. More ...

Gus Dur comes under fire JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid's instruction to
delay the prosecution of three of the country's top indebted
businessmen could damage the economy and the legal system,
analysts here said on Friday. More ...

Aussie govt leaps from triumph to crisis in a monthBy Jack Taylor SYDNEY (AFP): Australian Prime Minister John Howard has
suddenly found himself mired in crisis with his government's
future tied to the success of rescue efforts by his two most
likely successors. More ...

Non-operating income pushes up PT Timah's profit JAKARTA (JP): Publicly listed PT Tambang Timah, one of the
world's major tin producers, reported a net profit of Rp 296
billion (about US$34.8 million at the current rate) for the nine
months ending September 30. More ...

Another Wamena riot victim found WAMENA, Irian Jaya: Jayawijaya Police chief Supt. D. Suripatty
said on Friday that another victim of the bloody Wamena riots had
been found floating in Uwe River, Woma village. More ...

Munir refuses to help government JAKARTA (JP): Noted rights activist Munir refused on Friday to
help the government draft a revision of the Emergency Law and
argued that such a law is completely unnecessary."This country doesn't need such a law. More ...

Batavia, the city of beautiful canalsBy Ida Indawati Khouw Canals played an important role in the old city of Batavia. In
the course of time, the canals have been lost. This 61st article
on old and protected buildings in Jakarta traces their history
again. More ...